Call centers handle an increasing volume of telephonic inquiries for sales, information, customer support and other services. Typical call centers provide the ability to route a plurality of incoming, customer-initiated calls to agents which provide sales, information, or support on behalf of an entity (hereinafter referred to as the “client”) interested in establishing or maintaining a relationship with the customer. With the advent of electronic telecommunications, incoming “calls” are no longer necessarily telephonic communications but can also encompass the broad range of new communication channels such as e-mail, interactive chat, instant messaging, video conferencing, voice messaging, and the like. Throughout this text, the generic term “calls” is used to designate the entire range of communication formats which a modem call center is capable of handling. Similarly, throughout this text, the term “contact center” is used to designate a generic call center which may be equipped to handle not only telephonic communications but also the other modes of communication discussed above. An ACD is utilized to selectively route the incoming calls. An ACD generally refers to a device that receives incoming voice calls, answers with a taped announcement, holds the calls with background music or a message, then automatically assigns the call on a first come first serve basis to the next available agent. In the present context, the required call routing system must be able to process, in addition to voice calls, the electronic types of communications described above. For purposes of this document the term Intelligent Queuing and Routing Engine (“IQRE”) shall be used to describe such a call routing system. The IRQE will normally consist of an enterprise management system which, among its other components, incorporates an ACD to manage voice communications.
Modern IRQE systems selectively route incoming calls based on a number of factors such as the number called or dialed, the originating number, the queued sequence of the caller, the geographic location of the caller, accumulated caller history, and other relevant criteria. Once the IRQE has evaluated the inbound caller's information, if any, the IRQE searches for an available agent to service the call. Availability of agents may be dependent on any number of factors such as the skill level or schedule of the agent. The number of agents within the contact center and available to the IRQE is often limited by the physical space available for the agents to operate. A frequent problem experienced by contact centers is that there are often too few agents to handle the number of incoming customer calls. In those situations, the customer is frequently put on hold and made to wait until an agent becomes available. Many potential customers, when faced with an extended wait, simply terminate the call before the contact center has the opportunity to conduct a business transaction, thereby causing an economic loss. Additionally, customers calling for support or information may become disgruntled or unsatisfied with a business that is unable to provide a sufficient number of agents to service the call in a timely manner.
For most applications, an agent requires a direct communication link with both the customer who initiates the call and a central repository where data about the call and/or customer can be inputted and accessed. The agent communicates with the customer through either a telephone line or other method such as e-mail or Internet chat, and records whatever transactions take place through a computer terminal or a personal computer networked with the contact center's record system. Modem advancements in the field of electronics, computers and telecommunications have created standardized network protocols and hardware, yielding a constantly advancing global information infrastructure which can be used to establish reliable communication links. Local area networks (“LANs”) based at a single geographic location have given rise to wide area networks (“WANs”) which efficiently interconnect LANs spread over large geographic regions through the Internet or through private wireless or landline networks. In addition, home and business computers currently sold through normal retail channels offer integrated or optional components to communicate through standard networks including LANs, WANs, the Internet or a combination of the three.
Many problems experienced in conventional contact centers result from the use of fixed facilities that are both physically and geographically confined. Large call centers may select a geographically attractive location only to find a limited workforce in that area. Large contact centers typically pay for the training of their agents and simultaneously experience a high turnover rate. Furthermore, should the volume of calls exceed the capacity of the contact center, the traditional way to address the problem is either through outsourcing of services, through physical expansion of the facilities which is costly and time consuming, and/or by simply not answering, or “abandoning”, the excess portion of the call volume.
In response, recent developments in the fields of telecommunications and information technology have been used to enable remotely situated contact center agents (sometimes called “home agents” and referred henceforth herein as “remote agents”) to increase the number of call-takers available to handle contact center volume without necessitating an expansion of physical facilities. The benefits of using remote agents are obvious. Remote agents may work from home, reducing the need to physically expand contact center locations, and the equipment and software needed to implement remote communications is widely available. It is also attractive to recruit individuals for positions as remote agents since candidates can be offered the benefit of foregoing long commutes to geographically distant offices, flexible schedules, and reduced reliance on child care or other similar circumstances. Furthermore, remote agent opportunities are particularly beneficial to persons with disabilities who may have special needs and require more flexible working conditions and schedules.
Previous attempts have been made to implement remote agent operations such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,780 to Sand (the '780 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,551 to Conn et al. (the '551 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,890 to Danielsen (the '890 patent); all of which are incorporate herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,780 to Sand (the '780 patent) describes a work at home agent ACD comprising an ACD host switch, an agent switch, an intelligent agent workstation, a data network, a home agent server (“HAS”), a host processor, and a management information system (“MIS”), whereby call traffic routed through a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) is distributed by the ACD host switch to the agent switch and received by the workstation. The workstation receives voice signals from the agent switch and also transmits connection status, order processing, and other information via the data network to the HAS. The HAS transmits the data to a host processor which in turn communicates with the MIS which monitors the distribution traffic and controls the ACD host switch to optimize call distribution, particularly when caller traffic justifies maintaining an open voice path to the remote agent to reduce call setup time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,551 to Conn et al. (the '551 patent) describes a home agent telecommunication system comprising one or more home agents having a voice terminal and a computer terminal to access a transaction processing center. The transaction processing center may comprise a catalog order facility, a travel reservation entity, a stock brokerage, or the like. A customer call is received by a local exchange carrier (“LEC”) which is routed to a PSTN and received by a second exchange which serves the geographic area encompassed by the transaction processing center. The transaction processing center designates the home agent assigned to receive the call which is routed across a combined voice and data line. The perceived benefit of this system is that the home agent is not continuously connected to the transaction processing center on a line that may remain idle much of the time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,890 to Danielsen (the '890 patent) describes a remote agent operation for automatic call distributors utilizing ISDN comprising a remote agent position, a customer telephone, and a remote database, whereby a session initiates when the remote agent position is located near a local switch which connects to an ACD host switch via a telecommunications network. A front-end process to direct calls from the customer telephone to an available remote agent position. The local switch converts message data from a SS7 network format to an ISDN standard used by the remote agent position. The perceived benefit of this system is the economical placement of remote agents using ISDN to nearby local telecommunication switching systems instead of requiring them to be close to the ACD host switch.
However, none of the systems in the prior art describe a remote agent system capable of servicing multimedia contacts in one or more different contact centers. A typical contact center may only require the use of remote agents during certain periods of high inbound call traffic. Therefore, it is costly and inefficient to pay for a dedicated remote agent that is not being utilized during periods of low caller traffic. Conversely, should an unexpected surge in caller traffic occur, current systems lack the ability to immediately access a base of highly qualified, motivated remote agents. In circumstances such as these, which are commonplace in the field of the subject invention, it is of great benefit to have a pool of remote agents which can be assigned to more than one contact center and be efficiently utilized when and where they are most needed.
Moreover, past attempts to implement remote agent systems have only achieved limited success because they effectively only relocate agents from a fixed facility to a remote facility which does nothing to improve the efficiency of utilization of agents. The mere act of relocating an agent does not erase the fact that the agent remains a dedicated employee who must be compensated regardless of whether there is a sufficient call volume to keep him or her occupied during an entire shift. It would be very attractive for a contact center to be able to utilize non-dedicated remote agents, that is, agents who not only work from a remote location but also are not dependent on a single contact center for all of their work. Such a system would allow a contact center to schedule an agent for very brief periods of time (30 minutes, for example) and for non-contiguous blocks of time, possibilities which would not be feasible with a dedicated agent. These possibilities would open up because the remote, non-dedicated, agent would be able to “fill-in” empty bocks of time within his or her work schedule by making him or herself available to other contact centers during those times. In such a system, a contact center could schedule as many agents as it needs for exactly the time blocks needed without risking the quality of the services provided or the dissatisfaction of the remote agents utilized.
Past attempts to implement remote agent systems have, in addition, been expensive because remote agents are simply treated as regular employees of the contact center and, consequently, it is necessary for the contact center to equip their remote locations similarly to those of a local agents. This can be very expensive when a large number of remote agents are needed.
In addition, the simple relocation of agents to remote locations does not provide any incentive for the remote agent to be more efficient since he or she is not personally vested in the additional expense incurred in equipping the remote location.
From the remote agent's point of view, working for a singular contact center has distinct disadvantages. Most notably, the income base of the remote agent may be negatively affected if the singular contact center is not able to efficiently utilize him or her. For example, many contact centers servicing catalog sales may experience a flood of calls during the holiday season whereby there is sufficient work for the remote agent to handle the overflow. However, during the off-season, the contact center may not have the additional call volume and thus will be unable to fully utilize or employ the remote agent. Furthermore, should a remote agent wish to handle additional work, he or she is locked into the schedule of a single contact center and its ability to provide work to the agent. If more than one contact center is available for assignment, a remote agent will be able to choose from a wider range of work schedules and expected call volumes thus permitting a better fit to the particular lifestyle circumstances of the agent.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a remote agent system whereby the remote agents are capable of servicing calls for a singular contact center as well as a plurality of different contact centers.
There is a further need in the art for a remote agent system that permits flexibility in scheduling a single remote agent to multiple contact centers so as to allow for maximum efficiency in utilizing the working hours available to the agent.
There is a further need in the art for a remote agent system that permits the remote agent to select assignment from among a choice of work schedules and call volume levels pertaining to one or more contact centers.
There is a further need in the art for a remote agent system that incorporates the ability for remote agents to become personally vested in the success and efficiency of the system by making a personal investment in the procurement of physical equipment needed to establish the remote location, in the acquisition of skills through specialized training, and in the payment of recurring expenses associated with providing contact center services.
There is a further need in the art for a remote agent system that permits maximum flexibility in the scheduling of agents so that a contact center can schedule the number of agents it expects to need during the times they are needed.
There is a further need in the art for a remote agent system which provides a highly dynamic system for handling emergency crisis cases with previously trained and authorized remote agents that can be summoned in the event their services are needed, even on an infrequent basis.
Finally, there is also a need in the art for a contact center system which permits performance evaluation and management of the remote agent in real-time.